Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) Short Interest Down 14.6% in July

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,390,000 shares, a drop of 14.6% from the July 15th total of 12,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,440,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 11.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GO shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $27.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $43.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.75.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GO traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $18.82. 511,135 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,732,821. Grocery Outlet has a one year low of $18.16 and a one year high of $33.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.60 and a 200 day moving average of $23.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.09.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 1.60% and a return on equity of 5.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Luke D. Thompson sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.43, for a total transaction of $29,876.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,306 shares in the company, valued at $724,623.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,342,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,871,000 after acquiring an additional 199,926 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Grocery Outlet by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,333,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,628,000 after purchasing an additional 60,830 shares during the period. 12 West Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 383.3% during the first quarter. 12 West Capital Management LP now owns 3,625,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,875,000 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,613,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,933,000 after buying an additional 655,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 281.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,579,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,023,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

Grocery Outlet Company Profile

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. operates as a retailer of consumables and fresh products sold through independently operated stores in the United States. Its stores offer products in various categories, such as dairy and deli, produce, floral, fresh meat, seafood products, grocery, general merchandise, health and beauty care, frozen food, beer and wine, and ethnic products.